An Alabama firefighter, James Lawley, 36, of Joppa, has survived being struck by lightning at his daughter's birthday party last Sunday, just a year after a firework exploded in his face. The bolt hit his SUV, passed through his body and then travelled into a Cullman County firetruck, leaving Lawley grateful to be alive. His run of misfortune has led to him being dubbed the state's "unluckiest man".

Lawley told WVTM 13 that his only memory was grabbing his chest and saying "I'm hit, I'm hit". An EMT who treated him said he was fortunate to have survived, most likely because it was a secondary strike rather than a direct one. The incident came exactly a year after a firework that had toppled sideways blew up as he tried to set it upright, leaving a wound near his nose that required stitches. Lawley now jokes that he has only "four lives left".